Shikar
by Ryo Hoshi
Summary: [Sequel to Idylls & Mr Somewhere] Xelloss and Filia are on a quest, Zelgadiss is following a lead on his cure, and Amelia is finishing up a diplomatic trip with a journey to a mysterious kingdom located near the edge of the Desert of Destruction.


Since this is the sequel to Mr Somewhere and Idylls, I'll be doing last rounds of replies to the reviews of those two stories in the next two chapters, respectively. After this, no more replies will be made publicly to reviews of either stories. Thank you for your patience... (Feel free to scroll down.)  
I will admit now that this story was actually started before both Mr Somewhere and Idylls. Technically, they're prequels to this. Either way, however, this story contains spoilers for both of those stories and it might be a very good idea to read them first. 

Saki: Thank you very much! I hope I've had a hand in your growing fondness for Xel/Fi stories.  
Kioku: Ick! That's not fun at all... I'm glad you didn't mind the pacing, and thank you very much for the dark chocolate. (Run fast!)  
Mistress DragonFlame: Of course; I had intended that from the start. Mr Somewhere is/was rated R because not all of the sexual encounters are consentual. Remember, Filia didn't ask Xelloss if he wanted to have sex with her in the first place... Also, aren't they a bit too clearly happening for the term 'implied' to be appropriate? Though you're right that none are quite 'described,' either...  
Lauren-sama: You weren't expecting this? Wow. I'm glad you liked how I ended Mr Somewhere anyway, though I thought I had managed to remember to foreshadow _this_ development... Xelloss insisted on going through many moods in the chapter, partially in compensation for his hangover. I've never really forgotten about how he gets his energy; one of the ways I amuse myself is by trying to fill in the details since if he's being used as one of the main characters of a story, it can feel clumsy to just gloss over the entire subject. 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. (I am unable to give exact details on the copyright of the lyrics used at the top of this chapter. I'm sorry.) 

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**Shikar**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**1** +===+ **Falling**

_Oh, I was trying to get away from the things that I always do  
Hello, floorboards once again -- how are you?_  
-- Cheap Reward, Elvis Costello

The small camp of the Saillunese diplomatic party worked its usual way towards settling down. The guards negotiated happily who got the first watch that night over their food, while Amelia and the closest companions she had on the trip discussed the reasons behind the final stop in their itinerary before returning to Saillune.  
It had, on the whole, been a very boring trip. The official reason, to hold trade negotiations with the lands that lay beyond where the barrier had been, had gone routinely and really didn't need to have anyone of as great importance as the princess present. She had been sent because of the unofficial reason: the nobility of Saillune desired that she get married soon, and were hoping to marry her off to some noble from the 'Outer World,' as it was commonly known.  
In fact, Amelia was almost certain that the only reason for the last-minute addition of their current destination was that. The prince of Tauma, an extremely isolated little principality located in the Desert of Destruction, had made a rare contact with the world outside his realm and invited them to visit. They had been told that they should accept the invitation, because it was possible that this was a prelude to them finally agreeing to make more regular contact with the rest of the world. Tauma was as known for its isolationist policies as it was known as a rich and lush oasis within the wasteland.  
However, this also caused some doubts within the party. "I don't trust this Prince Tarik," Alacer said cautiously. The minor Saillunese noble was about Amelia's age, and he and his twin sister Adelaide were traveling with Amelia to gain experience. "There's something about him requesting that Princess Amelia in particular be a member of our envoy that disturbs me."  
"Oh, Alacer!" Adelaide, the more optimistic of the pair, said with a laugh. "You and Canton-sama are really making too much out of the stories of people going to visit Tauma and never returning; they probably just died in the desert. I'm sure Prince Tarik is wise and handsome, and he made the request because he heard about the beauty our princess is and wants to marry her."  
Amelia sighed and looked out of where they had set up camp -- inside a shallow cave at the bottom of a tall cliff -- at the rain. She didn't want to marry Prince Tarik or any of the men that the nobles had been pushing at her. She wanted Zelgadiss-san. 

He looked back -- he knew he shouldn't but he had to. They were catching up.  
If he had been in better condition, he could have so easily killed them. But he hadn't been healthy at any point during the entire cruel hunt. He had stumbled into their hands, sick and unable to think clearly because of a run-in with one of those things inhabiting that wasteland which itself wouldn't have been a problem if he'd waited for his skin to finish healing from his earlier wounds. They had nursed him partially back to health, just for the sake of their game, and then threw him outside of their gates.  
He didn't have his normal physical strength and speed, he barely had his magic, and the fact that they couldn't cut though his skin was little comfort.  
He sensed rather than saw the cliff he was headed straight for, but decided not to turn or stop. He could use Levitation, still...he hoped.  
A few steps, and he was off the cliff's edge.  
He put all he could into casting Levitation...but he could feel the spell flicker, and then it faded, leaving him at the tender mercies of gravity. 

There was a sudden crash outside of the shallow cave. Amelia stood up. There was something familiar about the form that had landed just barely within the area lit by the camp's fires. She rushed out to see, casting a light spell.  
Yes, there was something familiar. "Zelgadiss-san?" she said to him as she knelt down beside his form and started checking him for injuries. His eyes were unfocused and red, his lips were dryer than usual, and he looked thinner, too.  
He blinked at her as his mind dredged up just who Zelgadiss was and who this girl was. "Ame..." he was cut short by a wave of pain. Talking hurt.  
Amelia started to cast a healing spell on him, aware that it wouldn't, couldn't do much but it was all she could do for him. He was too weak, obviously having not been able to eat properly or drink anything in longer than even his body could stand. "Shhh, Zelgadiss-san, it'll be alright..."  
_But there's something I need to tell you_, he thought.  
Amelia suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the old priest. "He needs Resurrection cast on him," he said, "and possibly also Declairy afterwards. Recovery at this point will probably kill him."  
"But Canton-sama, I can't..."  
"I can. Let me." He smiled at her worried expression. "You go and get a bowl of soup ready for him. Thin it some with water; he probably won't be up to digesting anything more." 

Xelloss had never before realized how much of a task defending his own territory from trespassers could be, though he wasn't inclined to complain too much about it. Oh, he had been warned when he had made the arrangements that sailors, particularly on the kinds of ships that would be braving these particular waters this time of year, could be quite rough towards 'a minor aristocrat and his fiancee.' Still...  
He was used to somewhat more intelligent people. People who would have gotten the hint after the second or third time a particularly daring sailor had vanished after deciding that it would be easy enough to have some 'fun' with a effeminate aristo and his pretty woman. It wasn't even like they knew what a mazoku _was_, and their emotions during the entire process were not tasty enough for him to want to _encourage_ the damned idiots. In fact, there was a musty, stale flavor to all their emotions that he'd only tasted a few times before. While he had been reassured a couple times that it was a taste worth acquiring, he had absolutely no desire to do so and the more he experienced the disgusting flavor the less he liked it.  
It really was a shame that he couldn't be any more obvious about it, but he knew that if he left the remains lying around the captain might take exception and insist on turning back or doing something else equally annoying. Xelloss doubted that it was that regular an occurrence for the _crew_ to pull vanishing acts mid-ocean, though he suspected that the passengers had been known to do that. He was half-tempted to teleport away for a little while just to get a break from the place, but not only would returning would be interesting but that leave Filia, who was surprisingly unsuspecting, unguarded.  
His eye twitched in an automatic response to the annoyance that had become particularly pronounced during the current voyage. It was almost as irritating as the sailor he had just noticed creeping towards him in what seemed to be an attempt at 'stealth.' _Not another one_, he thought to himself as he got ready for yet another nasty-tasting kill. 

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I'm not sure if I've already covered this in the AN for Idylls or Mr Somewhere, but there are certain technical limits on healing spells. In this case, the main relevant limit is that of life-force (read: chi, ki, or qi, depending on which language & transliteration system you prefer), which used to 'power' the healing spell's effects.  
The standard spell, Recovery, uses the patient's own life-force to fuel the healing. It's not a particularly specific spell, as its target is not a 'individual life form' but rather 'life-forms within area' and thus it can really cause problems should there be any infection(s) present in the target. Also, if the target's life-force is not strong enough or the target is in bad enough condition, the spell will kill the target.  
Resurrection gets around this particular limit due to drawing upon the life-force of everything in the area. Thus, it doesn't matter particularly what the condition of the patient is as long as 'still breathing' is a truthful statement. (If the patient is dead, the patient is _dead_. Resurrection is, in the world of Slayers, a bit of a misnomer.) However, the same lack of precise focus that exists with Recovery is also present with Resurrection...  
(The sad thing is, I've actually had the free time to do the research of what little has been translated of the relevant parts of the canon on all of this...)  
I've no idea exactly why Canton felt that Zelgadiss might also need Declairy cast upon him. It seems that either Canton's the paranoid type when it comes to people in miserable conditions and, when making a diagnosis, will tend to assume the worst possibility within the limits of the symptoms. 

Dark chocolate and reviews will encourage me to work faster. Cinnamon buns and other treats for my two chibis will also encourage me. 


End file.
